Living Room

When I was a ”tween” (about 12 years old) I had two good friends whose houses were very different. In some ways, I was really envious of the one house. It was so beautiful and decorated with embroidered towels that matched in the downstairs bathroom and rooms that were color-coordinated. It was quite a difference from our house with furniture that was partway through raising seven children and cats. My best friend’s house was very different – more like my own with a kind of casualness about it. It was nice but comfortable.


There was no contest as to whose house I would rather spend time at. We were never allowed to play downstairs in the beautiful house. We never did get to be in the living room with its white carpet, white furniture, and crystal bowls and lamps setting on the tables. We would come in and take our shoes off and quietly go upstairs and remain quiet.


At the other house, there were usually cookies available for snacks and her mom was ready to join in anything we had going. Once, we decided to put on our own neighborhood ballet of Cinderella and she joined us in helping to make costumes, taking the time to teach us how to sew tutus out of bias tape and crepe paper. I still remember the saying she had hanging in the entryway: “my house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy”. It fit my own mother’s philosophy of home-making and became my own.


Mom taught me (very wisely) that the time to sit and read a book to a child was now because too soon they would be “too big” for such cuddles. From her (and now proved by my children) I learned that children will remember playing games, baking cookies, and singing songs. They remember how the Christmas tree shone at night and hanging their favorite childhood decorations and taking time to share the Christmas Carol.


A current magazine has yet another article on how to take the minutes we spend waiting in line, or for an appointment or between tasks and use them to their fullest. We should take this time and instead of “wasting it”, the article shows how to use this time to write lists, organize our days, write cards, doing exercises, or clean and organize in tiny steps. I got exhausted just reading the article. Whatever happened to taking time to smell the roses or see a sunset?


Our lives have gotten so full and busy and instead of giving us more time to spare, technology seems to be taking all of our free time away. Not only are many of us tied to our cell phones everywhere we go, talking isn’t enough; people do email, text messages and the internet. Our society seems to be developing so that people are to be instantly and always available whether we are at work, at home, in the car, and even in a public restroom. Not only our weekdays but our evenings and nights and weekends are also organized and often frantically busy.


So I was wary when I read in Ephesians “Be carefull then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time…”(Ephesians 5:15-16). It sounds like it could have come right from the magazine article. But what Paul goes on to describe as the will of the Lord is to “be filled with the Spirit” singing psalms and hymns… making melody in our hearts and giving thanks to God. These are activities that require us to be apart from the hustle and bustle of business, breathe deeply to sing and take time for faith. Jesus models a relaxed lifestyle for us and the disciples when in Mark he invites, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31) It seems that our spiritual health as well as our physical health need refreshment. Not only our homes but our hearts need to have the time and space to be “lived-in”. Read Ephesians 5:15-20.

Washed and Named

One of the joys of being a pastor for me is taking part in baptism; it is often a time when the mom and pastor in me get to intersect. I realized that close bond when my daughter was born during my first call. The next morning, the nurse brought in warm bath water, soft clean towels, and stood by as I bathed my child for the first time. I took her in my arms and began by washing her face, and then taking the water in my hand and gently pouring it on her head. I said her name as I held her and washed her clean. The connection between birth and the rebirth of baptism had never been clearer.

The difference is that later during baptism, the Word was added to the water as the water was poured and the pastor spoke, "Phoebe, I baptized you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." With those words, she was named and claimed as God's child. Those words are also the words we use to name God when we begin worship and in prayer.

In confirmation, we have been talking about God's name and how we use it as we study the first two of the ten commandments. The second commandment "You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain" in the modern translation reads "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God." What does that mean? After all, aside from Jesus (Christ is a title - not his name), God is not named Bob or Jenny. For people of the Old Testament, God's name is not something mere humans should even attempt to say, YHWH (what is written in Hebrew) is unpronounceable and when encountered in reading is replaced by "the Lord". What do we call God?

What is God's name and how do we use it?

All throughout the Bible, God is called different things but they are titles of relationship: "the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac", Immanuel (God with us), our Father, creator, savior, Holy Spirit, and more. The multitude of names and images of God emphasize two things: God is beyond our ability to fully understand and what we know of God, we know because of God's loving relationship withus.

Because of that, we are to treat God's name with care and respect despite what we hear all around us. As I read recently, we need to remember that "dammit is not God's last name". We are not to curse or use God's name for magic or to lie or deceive. When we use God's name for every little emphasis from swearing to writing OMG (O my God), we lessen the power God's name holds not only for the people around us but for ourselves as well. When "god" becomes a repeated comment without meaning ('oh god' this and 'oh god' that), it becomes less likely that we will hear hope and promise when we cry to God in help.

That is why how we are to use God's name is just as important as what we should not do. In the Small Catechism, Luther writes, we are to "use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God". In baptism, God claims us by name so that we can call upon God always and for everything. Because God has come to you just as you are and claims you in love and grace, you can call upon God with hope and confidence knowing that God is with you. Read Romans 10:8-13

Jesus is with us!

There is a great deal of concern this season with containing the spread of 'flu, so when the newspaper reported on suggestions for how churches might safely share Holy Communion and the Passing of the Peace, I decided we needed to address it at worship. Since we already use individual cups at communion, the concern was passing the peace.

During the announcements, I talked about the newspaper article and that some members had asked about what we should do to share a sign of Christ's peace. I said that we should respect other peoples' concerns and to simply say "Peace be with you" and not shake hands if the other person didn't offer their hand. I relayed some other suggestions such as bowing when saying the words, elbow bumping, and the "Obama knuckle bump". The other suggestion given was to wave a peace sign to one another. Later during worship, there were chuckles and giggles as people tried various ways of sharing the peace.

After worship, several people remarked that we had never had so much fun sharing the peace. A couple of guys suggested that waving one finger was all that was needed. It is the simplest sign and follows the rural tradition of waving a finger from the steering wheel when meeting someone on the road.

When Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, his first words are "Peace be with you" (John 20:19 and others). The "you" in the original greek of the New Testament is clearly plural. It is not a greeting from one person to one person but is from Christ to the all disciples. The words are words of welcome and good news: Jesus is risen from the dead. The disciples can put away their fear and grief. They are not alone, Jesus is with them. Jesus has conquered death and the promise of forgiveness and salvation is real.

In the same way, when we share a sign of Christ's peace with everyone who is gathered we are participating in the reassurance and spreading of the good news. We are not left to struggle alone; the power of the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Nothing, not even pain, sin and death are enough to separate us from God's love. Whether we wave a finger, embrace, or simply speak the words, this is the Good News we share with each other when we share a sign of Christ's peace. Christ is among us with all the promise that entails!

Now knowing the deep spiritual meaning of this sign, was it wrong for us to enjoy and even giggle as we shared the peace during worship? Not at all. What could be a better sign of our joy gathered in Christ than to relax, let go of our fears, and enjoy the peace that only comes from God. Read Philippians 4:4-7